Retrospect『 avengers au 』

Chapter VII: Déjà Vu

"Sounds good. Be back soon."

Tony pushed his way out of the lab and began heading for the elevator right as his phone began to ring. Peter Parker's contact picture lit up the screen of his cell and he quickly answered the call.

"Parker, you almost here?" Was the first thing Tony said as he stepped inside the elevator and hit the button for the eighth floor where Ariel's temporary room was located.

"I'm on my way, Mr. Stark. And I think I may know a way you can get more answers about the girl-"

"Ariel."

"What?"

"We're calling her Ariel until we find out her real name- well if we ever find out her real name. I'll explain later. What's your idea?" Tony responded as he exited the opened elevator doors and headed down the hallway towards Ariel's door.

"Okay, well, I decided to stay late in psychology and go through some textbooks and ask my psych teacher some questions. And I didn't tell her anything about Ariel, but I asked her about trauma and repressed memories," Peter began and Tony slowed his walk, an uneasy feeling creeping up his spine that he couldn't decipher entirely. "So far it seems you and Doctor Banner have been treating her for amnesia, right?"

"Right," Tony nodded as he came to a complete halt.

"Well, while it's not unlikely that Ariel is experiencing some form of amnesia due to her injuries before you found her, it's extremely likely that most of her past has been blocked out completely due to PTSD, thus leading to the speech block you guys mentioned," Peter went on and Tony could hear the sound of wind whipping on the other line, leading him to believe Peter was swinging while calling again, but he didn't scold him this time, and he continued to listen. "Now, while it's much more difficult to retrieve memories following amnesia, repressed memories due to trauma or a mental block can be retrieved through different things from that time, like a sound, feeling, taste, smell or sight."

"Okay, so we could try to retrieve her memories but how would we know what triggers to use?" Tony responded, lowering his voice as he turned his back to Ariel's door.

"We just need a little more information. But there might be something we already have we can use. Like when she was lost at sea. You could have her lay in the shallows of the ocean and close her eyes. It could trigger some memories from being out at sea. It's like psychotherapy," Peter explained, and there was a sudden 'thud' from the other line as he added, "I'm here."

Tony felt as though he needed more time to make up his mind about whether or not he would want to put Ariel through something like that. The triggering of a suppressed memory is a terrifying thing, especially for a young girl who has no one that she has known for more than a few days. On the other hand, it may be the only way to uncover her past and find out just what kind of enemy they need to protect her from so she can start a new life. These past few days have been weighing on Tony's shoulders like the deadweight of fifty bodies and he was close to falling over in exhaustion. But he had to remember that no matter how many little smiles Ariel faked, this situation was much more stressful and daunting for her rather than for him.

"Okay, we'll talk more about this later. I'm about to get Ariel and we'll meet you in the lobby," Tony informed the teenage boy and Peter agreed before they both hung up, and Tony knocked his fist against Ariel's door. There was a little bit of fumbling around and Tony smiled lightly to himself in amusement as she seemed to be scrambling for the doorknob on the other side. His smile widened when she opened the door and he found that she had selected another shirt to wear that he had picked out when he had gone shopping with Natasha. They figured it would be healthy for Ariel to be exposed to more colorful and unique patterns, designs and styles of clothing so she can experiment and find out what kind of person she is. She could be whoever she wants to be. She just needs a little nudge to get there. Not to mention she's but a young woman, still a minor, and any teenager would be going through a phase of finding out who they really are anyway. Ariel deserves to be given the option of whatever she pleases.